IntoSoft BV

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of digital and data support at a company that provides drivers for other companies, with valet parking and shuttle services for events.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with intosoft?

We have 3–4 planning systems to make sure everything we do is organized. We wanted to make one planning system with a mobile application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed our planning system within an iOS and Android app and did the system integration, all from scratch. We gave them the idea and some drawings, then they created the code and made the system.

It’s a web-based planning system with an application. We create jobs, customers, and projects within our program, then jobs. When employees accept one, they can do the job, starting and stopping within the system. We can make an invoice automatically and put the data into the salary.  

What is the team composition?

I had contact with the CEO and a project manager. There’s a developer involved but I don’t speak with him. I think there’s four to six people involved.

How did you come to work with intosoft?

I wasn’t there at the beginning. The first CEO had hired them but he’d left already when I came on the project.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent €250,000 (approximately $280,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2014, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The project went live this year. It’s improved how we work and made us more efficient as now we only have one system instead of three. We can make adjustments quicker and it’s easier to reach the employees.

Due to the growth we have now, we can do 2,000 jobs in a four-week period. We simply publish the jobs to the app and the employees plan things themselves. It’s much better.

How did intosoft perform from a project management standpoint?

In the beginning, it was a bumpy ride because we don’t have a lot of knowledge and it was hard to communicate with them. At some point, we were doubting whether to continue, but now everything works fine.

They don’t deliver on time or budget all the time, but that’s part our fault because we’re not strict. We have a time difference, but the communication is quite good considering that. We can always contact them with errors and get a response within a couple of hours.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re the first company I’ve worked with, so I have nothing to compare them to. Since we started from scratch with them, the relationship is quite good. They try to think with us because they know the app and they help to translate the IT language.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Although communication is good, there are some challenges. Keeping agreements is sometimes hard or communicating that things won’t be complete. The planning should be better.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Always be in contact with them and have a short lead.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a firm that created a hotel application called Throdi.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with InToSoft?

We’d previously worked with a Polish professor to make an initial version of the app with students. In order to commercialize it, we wanted to work with a firm that could guarantee everything would work perfectly and that we’d receive necessary updates.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The design was done beforehand, then InToSoft redeveloped the Xamarin application. They made big transformations to it and fixed bugs. It’s a housekeeping application in part, with integrations to other systems.

What is the team composition?

They assigned five people to our project, including two developers and a project manager.

How did you come to work with InToSoft?

We had just found a significant bug in the app, at the same time that someone from InToSoft contacted me on LinkedIn to ask if we needed development help. I got in contact with Vadim (Owner, InToSoft) a few days later, and we started working together quite quickly. They fixed the bug within 48 hours and brought it back online.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent €300,000 (approximately $337,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in November 2018 and the project is ongoing. We plan to continue working with them in the long term.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

InToSoft’s quality is perfect. Their business manager understands everything we need and the issues we were having.

How did InToSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate by Skype every day, and we share our screens. I plan to visit their office soon.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

This was our first time working with an actual development company. We’d only used students in the past, so I can’t make a comparison.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

InToSoft is a serious company. We were given a contract and a schedule for the tasks, so we didn’t have any doubts about the collaboration.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO and co-founder of a development company. We create mobile applications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with InToSoft?

We needed a vendor to manage the backend of our clients’ applications.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Over multiple projects, InToSoft has developed the backend of our products while we build the frontend. They used .NET and PHP. Recently, we collaborated on a mobile application for a building development company. The two-sided solution—for employees and residents—enabled the latter to pay fees and utilities.

What is the team composition?

The team includes 5–6 developers and 1–2 managers. The composition sometimes changes from project to project.

How did you come to work with InToSoft?

We interviewed several companies. We spoke with InToSoft’s manger and developers to gauge the team’s expertise. We hired them based on their competitive pricing and experience.

How much have you invested in them?

We have spent more than $100,000. The rates vary by project; some are fixed and others are hourly.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked together for 3–4 years. The relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We track the number of bugs our QA developer finds. There have been a normal number of bugs, and our clients are also okay with them.

How did InToSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

InToSoft manages the projects with fixed rates. We like and trust their team. Although it’s not always possible to provide them with clear technical specifications, we enjoy working with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team has been immensely helpful. They not only work with our developers, but they also work with developers on our clients’ side. Impressively, the team was able to create one backend for a client’s accounting and customer information data.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everything has been good. I feel good about the quality and price.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust them to handle projects from start to finish. Don’t try to cut corners—that will create problems.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a software development company that offers containerized solutions on Android and iOS for use in offices and financial institutions. I am the director of IT and manage our QA and some development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with InToSoft?

Our development team needed additional resources, so we hired them to augment our staff.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their main focus is on development for iOS and Android. There is no formal design documentation, so they often bring us design solutions. We chose the ones we like and they help us implement them. The product includes productivity items such as Dropbox, mail contacts, calendars, maps, and GPS functionality.

What is the team composition?

I interact with the whole team, which fluctuates between 3–4 people. We currently have a project manager and two other developers and expect to add a fourth person shortly.

How did you come to work with InToSoft?

My CEO had a connection and hired them before I was brought into the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

I believe we started working together in February 2015 on the Android version, though we may have worked together earlier on the iOS version. The engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

When they joined us, we only had an iOS option, so we’re happy with their work on the Android version. They finished about a year’s worth of work within about six months. Several of their developers are excellent, though we have worked with a few junior members. They’re quick to correct any issues and generally provide good quality deliverables.

How did InToSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

We don’t have to leverage their project manager often, since we work directly with their developers. Our communication channels include Skype, Slack, and email, and they accommodate the time difference by working a later shift. We usually have about four hours each day that we’re all online and they’re very communicative. They work together all the time and have regular weekly meetings and daily status check-ins.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They find new developers for us quickly. If we have a situation that requires more resources, we can add team members and then release them again once the pressure goes down.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Some of their developers speak English well, but we have encountered language barriers with others. Having a good understanding is important to avoid misinterpretation of our requests.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Interview each developer they offer, just as you would a potential candidate for an in-house position.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of an organization that develops software that manages workflow to facilitate efficient business processes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with InToSoft?

My company works with 60 different organizations around the world, and our goal is to find an overarching management solution that fits most of these companies’ needs. To do this, we needed help with analysis and developing a flexible and customizable piece of software.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our project began around 2016 with another company, but in 2018 we decided that we needed to work with an alternative vendor—InToSoft. We first tasked them with analyzing our processes and product up to that point to identify fundamental changes we could make to our approach

After their analysis, we discussed the concept we were looking for, our goals, and how to improve the existing application. Using a Mongo database on a Linux server, they developed new app functionalities in JSON. They created and implemented the code for data-driven pages, which enables us to quickly create and customize layout pages from a single map document. It’s a flexible solution that will require minimal maintenance down the line.

What is the team composition?

We work with two FTEs, one of which takes the role of the team lead.

How did you come to work with InToSoft?

I first met InToSoft’s founder when I was working at another organization. When we started looking for alternative development teams, his name was one of the first that came to mind because he had made a positive impression previously.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in March 2018, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

In about half of their presentations, they offered additional ideas for developments, which helped open up the discussions about the most beneficial solutions. Their design demonstrates that they have an in-depth understanding of our goals and what we want to communicate to users.

How did InToSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

We had regular scrums and frequent communication. Since there was only a two-hour time difference between us, it was very easy to set up meetings either over the phone or Skype. That was a big advantage compared to the previous vendor we had worked with, who was located in China. We took on the role and typical responsibilities of project managers, like creating the stories and wireframes.

What did you find most impressive about them?

InToSoft understood our objectives and easily implemented them into their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their billing is vague. I would appreciate the developer’s hours to be broken down by task and to detail exactly how much time he spent on each task.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Based on our experience, I would say be sure to communicate. It will lead to better results.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a delivery manager at Wild Mouse. We’re a combination of a consulting firm and an application development company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with InToSoft?

We needed help developing a multiplatform streaming application we want to bring to market.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

InToSoft is assisting us with the development of a mobile app across multiple platforms. The app will be for Android, iOS, Windows 10, and Xbox. The underpinning technology they’re using across the different platforms is Xamarin. We provide 80% of the requirements and then they fill the gap. They do participate in creating those requirements and clarification. Their resources are working under the direction of our design lead.

We've engaged them mostly for development, but they’re also doing some business analysis work for us as well.

What is the team composition?

It ranges from 1 1/4–2 full time developers and architecture experts.

How did you come to work with InToSoft?

They’d previously worked with our design lead. He recommended them as a good fit for this development project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2018 and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The app is still in development. However, their work so far is generally pretty good. Our assigned developers are quite knowledgeable. We didn't expect them to be Xamarin experts given that it's a fairly new technology. Under the circumstances, we're happy with the quality they provide and the output to date.

How did InToSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

We're providing the project management and they're working under our direction. It's been fine so far. We have a stand up every day to provide clarity on the requirements. They work from a requirements document in order to track progress. They also provide a billing record at the end of every cycle.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re genuinely interested in making our app work. They do fine quality work, and they take direction well. That combination means they’re pretty easy to work with. There's no major drama. If there's been a miscommunication or misunderstanding, they quickly jump in to fix it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They're doing fine within the scope of the project.

Any advice for potential customers?

No real suggestions. The relationship works well for us, so I recommend them to others.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the VP of marketing and sales at a software development shop.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with InToSoft?

We have a lot of clients that require our specialty in user experience design, so we wanted to scale our resources. We were looking to partner with an offshore company and contract some of our resources from them.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provide full-time designers to us. We usually give them the requirements for the project and they help us execute it. Currently, they're just helping us with the user experience design, but there is potential for coding in the future. One of the recent projects they worked on was the design for a mobile application: our client was looking for a clickable prototype that could be used to raise money.

What is the team composition?

We work with three designers, including a lead designer in the US, a visual designer, and a UX research PA.

How did you come to work with them?

Our director of user experience has a very good relationship with one of their directors, so there has been a tremendous amount of trust from the beginning.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent about $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in November 2017 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

They work very hard and accommodate our time zone. They also speak very good English, so there were no language barriers. The quality of their work is just as high as I'd expect from our in-house team (we usually have a very rigorous interviewing process).

Our customers are happy with their work. One of our clients just wrote a very positive Google Review, saying they’re impressed with the direction we took while building a very sensitive application and that they would like to work with us on other high-level projects. We have an InToSoft designer working on that product, so that is a tribute to them.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very professional and extremely responsive. We usually use email, Zoom, a web conferencing tool, and Write for project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The process they take with any project speaks volumes to their experience. They know what they're doing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They've been a perfect partner.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you don't come to them with the project that starts tomorrow. They're quite busy, so you have to give them time to find the appropriate resources for your project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I run Digiteum, a digital technology agency. We design and build new digital tools and services to help our clients win more business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire InToSoft?

We had an urgent need for more Python developers to scale up our team and fulfill our contract obligations. We had pre-screened and approved InToSoft as a technical partner, so we send them our request for Python developers and were able to add two senior engineers to our team within a week.

What were your goals for this project?

InToSoft developers were part of the team responsible for creating a business automation solution for one of our bluechip clients.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were looking for reliable technical partners in Minsk. We used dev.by to pre-screen local companies and selected about 10 companies for interviews. We scheduled meetings with all of them. These meetings included both top management and technical interviews followed by pilot projects. At the end of the process, we selected 3 companies who fit our corporate culture and our technical requirements. InToSoft was one of them.

Describe the project in detail.

The project is under an NDA so I can't provide many details. Generally, it was automation of business processes for one of the world's biggest international publishing companies.

Explain how the solution addressed your business challenge.

We needed to quickly augment our team with a few senior software engineers with advanced English communication skills. InToSoft provided exactly want we needed.

What was the team composition?

The global team size was 12 people, but InToSoft team was just 2. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What outcomes or results can you share that demonstrate progress and/or success?

They helped us as a natural extension of our team. We've been working with them on various other projects since then.

How effective was the project management?

We performed the project management side.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

When we are looking for a technology partner we consider several important criteria. This includes the cultural fit; our team is flexible, proactive, and "client-oriented." We want to work with partners who share the same values. We also look for depth of technical knowledge and experience. InToSoft got 10 out 10 for both of the above criteria and this was proven during our partnership.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a systems integrations company. We provide outsourced IT solutions to our customers. We have our own cloud servers with 24/7 maintenance, on which clients can host their infrastructure. We also run IT development projects, including server and desktop virtualization, as well as networking configurations.

What is your position?

I am the director of our development division.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with InToSoft?

When we started working with InToSoft, we were having difficulties in finding skilled personnel in the Netherlands. I had set up my own academy in order to provide SharePoint development training, but I was not able to grow as fast as I'd have wanted. We decided to outsource our resources as a result.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

We build SharePoint portals and .NET custom applications for customers, which is where InToSoft's services were required.

The developers from InToSoft act as a part of my team. They're not located in my office, but we use Skype for constant communication and have hired a project manager in the Netherlands who acts as an interface for their team. This has worked out very well for us. InToSoft's staff is highly skilled. Their technical expertise is at a higher level compared to the local developers in the Netherlands. We use them within all the development projects for our customers and have had good results consistently.

The team provided by InToSoft consisted of 4 developers at its peak. It has stabilized to 3 developers currently. Over the course of our relationship, we've only changed one developer, when that person left the company in order to work somewhere else. The change was handled well by InToSoft. We had set up a technical profile from the start, against which candidates could be evaluated. Based on it, I selected a developer for my team. I made decisions on how the interview process would be conducted, taking into consideration factors like technical ability and English language level. Even in the unfortunate case of a team member leaving, InToSoft quickly found a good replacement.

How did you come to work with InToSoft?

During my working experience, I've worked with people in India, China, and the Philippines. I wanted to look a little closer to home, as it can be difficult to work with an outsourcing company that far away. I had a look at the markets in Ukraine, Belarus, and Romania. InToSoft came out as a winner from this process.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them a little over 2 years ago.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Unfortunately, I don’t have access to any specific figures related to their work.

How did InToSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

Within every IT project, there will be challenges in terms of scheduling. Every challenge was handled by InToSoft with the same efficiency as they would have been handled by my own team.

We are a Microsoft-oriented company, so we use the portals made available through the Microsoft development toolkit. We also communicate daily through Skype in order to run our scrum project sprints. Individual developers communicate with each other as much as ten times a day.

What distinguishes InToSoft from other providers?

The main benefit of working with InToSoft was the ability to scale our resources to our exact needs. Also, as I've mentioned, the technical expertise offered by InToSoft is a bit higher than what is typically available in the Netherlands. We were able to develop more complex projects for customers as a result.

Is there anything InToSoft could have improved or done differently?

There's always room for improvement, especially in the details. We continue to strive in understanding each other better and following procedures more efficiently. There are no underlying problems with InToSoft though. They run through the same challenges which I've seen in my Dutch staff as well. Developers can be less focused and make little mistakes as a result. After each project, we do a review and evaluate what was done correctly and what could be done better.

Could you share any tips with future clients?

The most important thing that a client looking to work with InToSoft could do is make sure that they have a member in their company who has an understanding of the local language and can interface with the people on a personal level. Although everyone usually talks using Skype, in the event of a communication issue or a cultural difference, our interpreter can step in. Communication and working together can only be successful if enough time is spent cultivating the relationship. It should not be treated as simply as a money-saving solution. The client should invest in the relationship just as they would in building their internal team, and engage with the provider on a greater level than what is simply demanded by the projects themselves.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are an e-commerce provider working with different clients and agencies within the United States. We provide mostly backend services.

What is your position?

I am the President and Chief Executive Officer of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with InToSoft?

Our company has grown faster than our ability to train our own in-house team. We needed additional resources in order to handle some projects.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

InToSoft provides PHP development for us, specifically for the Magento e-commerce platform. They work on bug fixes, feature implementations, as well as customizations.

We work on e-commerce integrations with backend services. InToSoft also handles some of the frontend CSS and HTML work. Our clients are typically B2C businesses which sell consumer items, but they can also be B2B distributors of professional products.

We manage the developers from InToSoft directly. We've used as much as five team members. They offer us developers with different skillsets, depending on our tasks.

We don't engage in project work with them. InToSoft acts as an additional staffing source for our company. The work is done on a week-by-week and month-by-month basis.

How did you come to work with InToSoft?

One of my senior-level managers found them. He was assigned with scouting companies in Eastern and Southern Europe, and came up with InToSoft. I did not want to work with India and did not want to hire a US company either.

We evaluated InToSoft based on their skillsets and price point. They were a match in this sense. We started with smaller projects and requested a few changes in the developers assigned to us before coming to a working relationship.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We really don’t have any specific metrics to share. The work they complete doesn’t really lend itself to that kind of measurement.

How did InToSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

They're competent and smart people. InToSoft is very open to our needs structure, in terms of how we work with our clients, as well as to our payment structure. They're very quick to respond whenever we have a problem, which is a critical requirement in our situation. They are above the middle of the road and are a very professional company.

What distinguishes InToSoft from other providers?

I consider them to be a solid provider. This immediately puts InToSoft in a different class. A lot of companies don't know what they're doing and don't have the willingness to replace their developers when someone makes a mistake or is sick. InToSoft seems to have good recruiting processes and competent engineers. Simply by doing this, they will reach the top 20% of available companies.

Is there anything InToSoft could have improved or done differently?

Some of the staff members they provided us with were not responsive and efficient enough, but InToSoft was able to replace them in a timely manner. This did lead to an image drop with our clients, because InToSoft's performance is directly reflected on our own. Nobody can operate at 100%, but if your performance is at 80%, which I find to be true of InToSoft, everything will be fine.